The present invention relates generally to fishing lures, and more particularly to a device for preventing bait, also referred to herein as lures, from slipping down the shank of a fishhook. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a novel bait retaining device, wherein the device secures bait in a simple and effective way and allows for disengagement and reattachment upon a new portion of the bait providing a dramatic improvement in the life of the bait.
The use of bait in fishing is ancient. The use of artificial worms and live bait is particularly common. Many different types of devices have been developed and used to secure bait to hooks and extend the useful life of bait. However, most devices and methods gave little support to lures and, once used, would render the lure useless in other applications or even repeated use because of the likelihood of ripping and tearing the lure.
Examples of devices designed to hold bait and lures include the following: U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,168 discloses a deep sea fishing lure with teeth and body closure which consists of upper and lower cylindrical jaws pivotally connected and biased together with a spring. The inside of the jaws have rows of teeth, designed to hold live bait. The design is such that it is to prevent water from washing out the live bait.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,023 discloses a bait holding device designed to simulate a bait predator. It is comprised of a pair of complementary clasps which are designed to hold bait without impaling the bait. The clasps have a handle portion and a hinge which are designed so a hook may be inserted and secured. The non-impaling feature of this device is to preserve to life of live bait.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/604,937 is directed to a fish hook with a bait attachment clip. The bait attachment clip is coupled to the hook and a flexible sleeve is slid onto the hook to removably couple the bait attachment clip in an operative position. The combination is designed to enable live or artificial bait to be more readily coupled to the hook in a secured manner. The bait is not impaled by the clip. The clip has jaws which are pivotally connected and biased together with a spring, whereby a user can compress the jaw ends together to open the opposing jaw ends out of the clamping position.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/038,829 is directed to a device attachable to an artificial fishing lure to prevent an artificial trailer bait from sliding down the lure's fish hook. It is comprised of a piece of wire that is formed generally into a U-shape consisting of a pair of legs joined by a base segment where the end of each leg is turned inward towards the opposing leg. Each terminal portion is adapted to penetrate into and hold artificial bait in place on the hook.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,841,127 discloses a fishing hook rig where a connector is formed with a spiral wire surrounding a portion of a straight wire pin and the connector is fixed to the top end of a fishing hook. An artificial bait is connected to the straight and spiral wire combination in order to secure it from sliding down a hook and to form, once the hook is entered into a lower portion of the artificial bait, a snag resistant rig for fishing.
Several problems exist with these prior art lures and bait holders. For example, the prior art devices that do not impale bait, do not sufficiently hold bait to prevent loss of it. Many of these devices are also complicated multi-piece constructions which makes them difficult to assemble and expensive to manufacture. The prior art devices that do impale rip and tear the bait at the connection points and fail to extend the life of the artificial bait. Therefore, there is a need among bait retaining devices for a device that sufficiently secures bait by impaling and will extend the useful life of the bait.